Pushed by patient volume predictions and a surplus construction budget, University Health is already planning expansions at its two new community hospitals currently under construction.<\/p>\n
The Bexar-County-owned hospital system\u2019s Board of Managers approved on Tuesday $90 million to add on more inpatient bed capacity and outpatient exam rooms at Palo Alto Hospital on the South Side and Retama Hospital on the far Northeast side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roughly $60 million was available from the hospitals\u2019 construction budget, the rest came from the hospital\u2019s reserve funds. The expansions are planned for 2028 and won\u2019t affect the expected opening dates of the hospitals in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter analyzing the expected patient care volumes at each hospital and taking into account continued population growth in both of these areas, moving forward with expansion now will save time and money,\u201d University Health President and CEO Edward Banos said in a news release. \u201cThis was no easy feat in today\u2019s economic environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The expansions will include 20 additional inpatient rooms at Retama Hospital, bringing the total number of beds to 167. Eight additional exam rooms will be added to the medical office building adjacent to the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At Palo Alto, another 60 inpatient rooms will be added for a total of 227 beds at opening, plus an extra 16 exam rooms in the adjacent medical office building<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The investment brings the total price tag of the two hospital builds to $1.5 billion. <\/p>\n At the same time, University Health is in the process of opening a shuttered CHRISTUS hospital in the South Texas Medical Center as Babcock Specialty Hospital<\/a>, aimed at alleviating patient volume at its nearby flagship hospital. All told, the three new hospitals represent a $1.7 billion investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDoing this work now while the buildings are still under construction reduces costs and avoids disruptive work in patient care areas after the hospitals and medical office buildings open,\u201d said Brian Freeman, University Health\u2019s vice president of capital improvement projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n